Grant: Operating Grant

Type 2 diabetes (adult onset diabetes) affects between 7 and 10 percent of the Canadian population and is a major cause of mortality and suffering from heart disease, stroke, amputations, blindness, and renal failure. Pre diabetes affects up to 25% of the Canadians and also leads to heart disease. We have shown that abnormal blood fat levels after meals may be implicated very early in the natural history of type 2 diabetes and may be implicated in early cardiac dysfunction seen in pre diabetic individuals. Using novel imaging techniques we developed, we found reduced dietary fat storage in fat tissues and associated increase of dietary fat uptake in the heart of pre diabetic individuals. We also found significant differences in how enhanced dietary fat channeling towards the heart occurs in men and women with pre diabetes. Here we propose to pursue our investigations to demonstrate the mechanisms by which both heart and fat tissue abnormalities of dietary fat metabolism occur in men and women with pre diabetes. The proposed studies may lead to a better understanding of the cause of type 2 diabetes and related heart disease and to more specific targets for prevention and early treatment of this devastating disease.